In the Cellar
by Metztli
Summary: First GSG fanfiction: A one shot attempting to portray Rico and Jean's characters. On the serious, grim side.


[edit: Heh, forgot the disclaimer. Surprisingly enough, I don't own "Gunslinger Girl" or any part thereof.

**In the Cellar**

Rico sat on an old wooden chair in an abandoned cellar. She swung her legs back and forth, as she looked curiously around the room. The walls were made of irregular stones about the size of a grown man's head and the mortar, which may have been white once, was gray or black now. There was little furniture in the room: the chair Rico sat on, an old battered desk in the corner, and half a dozen wine racks. The source of light was a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling by its cable.

Rico sat patiently as played with a little wooden figurine she had found in the desk's drawer. Jean had told her to go down here and wait for him so that was what she did. It was a little cold and musty, but she enjoyed the experience. The old masonry and antique furniture was something completely new to her. She had examined everything in the room when she first came in: the chairs, the stones walls, the old desk, and the wine racks. She even found an old bottle of wine on one of the racks further into the cellar. The bottle now stood on the table opposite to her where she could look at the clear red liquid illuminated by the light, and the label that bore an elaborate crest of arms.

They have been preparing for this mission, almost a month now. She had learned what to do: how to get into the midst of her enemies; manipulate them to surround her. She had thought a lot in the previous weeks, but now she was just enjoying the passive experiencing of life: the dampness of the chamber, the feeling of the wooden chair on which she was sitting, and the strange appearance of the cellar.

She always liked the clearness in Jean. Her parents had always been unpredictable sometimes they were even nice to her; most of the time they would break out into sudden arguments with no warning. But, Jean had clear expectations. Rico always knew when she would get scolded and why, and she knew what she can do not to get scolded. Last year, Jean had told her she was useful several times and almost seemed happy with her progress, but by the time they started the training he became a bit strange and sometimes seemed angry with no reason; other times he seemed somewhat lax.

After about half an hour Rico heard footsteps on the stairs leading down to her hiding place. She cautiously jumped up and flattened herself against the wall on the right side of the end of the staircase, her hand on her pistol. It was Jean. When he stepped into the room his eyes scanned the chamber instantly, then his head snapped right to focus on Rico. He looked startled for a second, and then seemed to want to say something, but didn't. His face quickly returned to normal: stern and expressionless. He stood motionless for a couple of seconds looking at her. Rico thought he looked like he wanted her to say something. It was strange almost as if he was asking, but she didn't know what to say.

"Hello, Jean." Rico said.

"You're here… Good." Jean responded.

He was carrying a long black bag, the type used for sports equipment, which he laid down on the floor, and started to rummage through its content. Rico stood by and looked curiously over his shoulder as Jean pulled out several flat rectangular packages, something resembling a vest, a roll of duck tape and bundle of wires.

"Do you remember the plan of the building?" He asked, preoccupied with his

manipulations.

"Yes."

"What is the mission status and what are your objectives." He continues his questioning, as his eyes jumped from one place to another on the intricate web of multicolored wires. His voice seemed unusual, it was even more flat then usual, and it was not even strict. Just flat, hollow, and expressionless.

"Padania is holding a meeting. Umm, their most important leaders will be there…

I will get in through the ventilation shaft, then go through the corridors to the underground conference room." Rico recited the information.

"Here. Take your coat off and put this on." He said handing her the vest.

"What is it?" Rico asked.

"It's mainly C4 and bags of buckshot." He answered as he taped several wires

to her shirt.

"It won't explode even if you get hit, but the detonators may get damaged - that's why you have three, use them all at once when you get there. You'll have to run about 500 meters and force your way into the conference room. Don't let anything stop you. " (…)

"Do you understand" Jean asked, his eyes coming up to meet hers.

There was something strange about his face. Rico couldn't quite understand what it was, but she thought his eyes were somewhat glazed over…

"Yes, Jean."

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A/N: If you have squestions, wish to point out the implausibility of the idea, are curious about how this may have ended, or just don't have much to do at the moment visit the "International world forum for Gunslinger Girl". (I'm "3 klicks")


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